The Akshay Kumar starrer Singh Is Kinng was released in India and Pakistan on August 8 and exactly one month later, it had grossed 1.45 billion rupees at the worldwide box office. That, other than being an insanely huge statistic, is proof of how successful the film was in terms of viewership. People were flocking to the cinemas and even critics, who usually look for depth in a movie, gave it stars of approval despite the fact that it was a lot like any other Akshay Kumar starrer. His character, persona, his leading lady and his humour was what one had seen before in films like Namaste London. But with Singh is Kinng, Akshay Kumar went from being Bollywood's 'Khiladi Numer One' to the 'Kinng' himself. Today, he's not just a superstar; he's a phenomenon.

One must admit that he's not that great an actor. He's no Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan or even Shahrukh Khan. There is no diversity in Akki's acting and his characters are all stereo type. Apparently there is no logic behind his fame and fortune and whether he is an Arjun Balley Singh (Namaste London) or a Happy Singh (Sing is Kinng) he's the same person, with just the slightest change of clothing. And yet he has become a phenomenon.

One was intrigued to spend three hours watching SIK, despite not being an Akki lover - his previous super hits like Bhool Bhulaiyya, Namaste London, Welcome and Heyy Babyy were after all mind numbing. Getting into a multiplex was a task undone as it ran house full for the first few weeks; thank God for a dubious DVD dealer who managed to sneak in a pirated copy. And having sat through it dutifully, one has to admit the film isn't as bad as other similar mindless comedies that have been the flavor of the hour in Bollywood for the past couple of years or so. Singh is Kinng has some semblance of a story line, it appeals to the sense of better justices and morality and on a light note, the way it transforms the Sikhs into the Sopranos works very well. They are a good looking race and work very well as a parallel Punjabi mafia.

Happy Singh is the quintessential Indian superhero
Forget Krrish - he got his superpowers from an alien - a concept most people in the sub continent still cannot relate to. Happy Singh is their ideal hero because he rises from the grass root level and travels across the world, conquering all evil on the way. He'll run faster than the wind to get the heroine her bag back (twenty years ago he would have saved her in an essential 'bachao bachao' rape scene). He knows his rights from his wrongs and he isn't willing to compromise. Happy Singh manages to turn around the mafia style set up of his cousin Lucky (who is operating a cartel as on of Australia's most wanted criminals) and unknowingly change it to a Robin Hood kind of operation. The Sikh trigger happy mafia is suddenly just 'happy'…they are affected by Happy Singh. One has to say that the action in the film is sloppy - the sequences do not compare with those of either Krrish or Don: The Chase Begins. But this is what the masses identify with easily.

Morals win the battle better than slick action
When it comes to the movies, the people of India and Pakistan still want a morally upright storyline with a hero who knows his rights from his wrongs. He has to be white in character - not grey and certainly not black - and his leading lady must be a pretty prop and nothing more. And that is another reason why Sing is Kinng works. Happy Singh (Akshay) is a village idiot. He is the ultimate jinx but he has a heart of gold. And thus when Lucky Singh's (another village youngster who left for Australia and never returned) father falls ill, the villagers scheme to emotionally blackmail Happy into traveling across to Australia to bring Lucky back. He falls for it because as a dutiful son in a close knit Punjabi community, the orders of his elders are sacred to him. Happy leaves on his expedition with absolutely no understanding of the world beyond his village limits.

Akki adds a welcome
fourth dimension to the
Khan-Bachchan-Kapoor Bollywood nexus
We're used to operating in clans in this part of the world. And while we're aware of that phenomenon as a vital part of our fashion industry, it is just as strong in Bollywood where there are Khan camps versus the Bachchan camps; and the Kapoors standing on the sidelines of glory until Ranbhir (their first hero offering) came along. It is all about camps. And though it makes for excellent media fodder, the people have welcomed Akshay Kumar as their own as he is not attached to any camp by blood or by surname (though he is extremely pro-Bachchan).